Composite floor-ceiling element



Sept. 17, 1968 J. w. SCHNELLER 3,401,495

COMPOSITE FLOOR-CEILING ELEMENT Filed April 5, 1965 2 Sh =:et.s--Sheec 1 5 36 5 F INVENTOR.

Joseph W. Schneller Fig.3 *Wg/ ATTORNEY Sept. 17, 1968 J. w. SCHNELLE R 3,401,495

COMPOSITE FLOOR-CEILING ELEMENT Filed April 5, 1965 2 Sheets-Shee t z Fig.5

' INVENTOR. Joseph W. Schneller ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,401,495 COMPOSITE FLGOR-CEILING ELEMENT Joseph W. Schneller, Williamsville, N.Y., assignor to National Gypsum Company, Bulfalo, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 445,345 8 Claims. (Cl. 52-483) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A prefabricated panel including as one face :a relatively thin, dense floor board and including as the opposite face a plurality of elements for forming an exposed ceiling and for providing the structural characteristics necessary for combination with a floor board for stiffness, which plurality of elements includes a plurality of relatively, thick, low density ceiling boards and a plurality of narrow, dense stitfeners, with the stiffeners between adjacent ceiling boards and at the outer edges of the ceiling boards, the stiifeners and ceiling boards being adjoined by respective tongue and groove edges, and the ceiling boards and the stiffeners being laminated to the floor board.

This invention relates to a building product and, particularly, to a novel combination suitable for prefabrication for easy shipment and rapid affixing to the joists of a building, which combination then forms both a ceiling and a floor of highly advantageous character.

A primary object of the invention is to provide an improved combination of building elements in a unitary floor-ceiling panel for mounting atop joists.

It is a further object to provide such improved panel with markedly improved structural stiffness and strength relative to the amount and type of the respective materials required.

Briefly, the present invention contemplates the combination of relatively thick, lightweight, low density, sound absorbing, fibrous panels, suitable for exposed ceilings, adjoined between the side edges with a small elongated stiffening element, and with a plywood top face disposed atop the panels and stiffeners providing a suitable floor base material.

These and other objects of the invention will be more readily apparent when considered in relation to the preferred embodiment as set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from one end of the composite panel built in accordance with and embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is :a vertical sectional view of a fioor-ceilng construction embodying the composite panel of FIG. 1, taken in the plane of the supporting framing.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view in a plane perpendicular to that of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the junction of the floor-ceiling construction of FIG. 2 and an exterior wall.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of :a plurality of the panels of FIG. 1, disposed atop framing, showing the staggered disposition of the panel end joints.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown one unitary composite panel 10, mounted atop 4" x 12" framing members, joists or exposed beams, referred to hereinafter as joists 12, which extend perpendicular to the long dimension of the panel 10.

Panel is formed from two low density fibrous boards 14, which in the preferred form are each from 2 to 4 inches thick, 22 inches wide, and from 8 to 18 feet long. The low density boards may be of a type made from fibrous-like wood excelsi-or and magnesium oxysulfate cement binder, normally being of about to lb./ cu. ft. density, such boards being manufactured and sold under Ice the trademark Tectum, by the National Gypsum Company.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the two low density boards 14 is formed with an elongate groove 16 on the left side edge and a complementary elongate rib 18 on the right side edge. The two boards are disposed in parallel side by side relation and there is disposed therebetween and adjoining the two boards a central elongate wood stitfener 20, preferably of about 2-inch average width and a thickness and length equal to the respective thickness and length of boards 14. A similar but about half as wide Wood stiffener 22 is disposed adjacent the outer edge of each board 14. The stitfeners 20 and 22 each have an elongate groove 24 and an elongate rib 26 on the two respective opposite sides, which grooves 24 and ribs 26 are complementary to the grooves 16 and ribs 18 on boards 14.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, one unitary 4-foot wide section is provided by the interengaged three stifieners 20 and 22 and two boards 14. Disposed atop and adherred throughout to one face thereof is a 4-foot wide relatively high density plywood sheet 28 of a length equal to that of the boards 14 and stilfeners 20 and 22. Plywood density will normally be about 36 lb./ cu. ft.

The combination of plywood sheet 28 with supporting boards 14 and stiffeners 20 and 22 provides a complete panel 10 which will function as both the floor of a room thereabove and the ceiling of a room therebelow, which panels can be readily placed on joists 12, preferably in a staggered relation as shown in FIG. 5. With 2-inch thick boards 14 and %-inch thick plywood sheets 28, 8-foot long panels may be satisfactorily employed, mounted on joists 12 extending perpendicular to the panel 10 long dimension, with joists 12 disposed at 4-foot center to center spacing.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a room partition 30 as such would be constructed in the area below the novel floor-ceiling structure of the present invention, extending parallel to the long dimension of panels 10. A top runner 32, such as a short 2" x 4" section of wood, is afiixed below and parallel to two adjoined narrow stiffeners 22 of two adjacent panels 10, extending between each pair of adjacent joists 12. Vertical studs 34 and wallboards 36 are suitably afiixed to and below the top runners 32.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a room partition 38 as such would be constructed in the area above the novel floor-ceiling structure of the invention and a room partition 40 as such would be constructed in the area below the novel floor-ceiling structure, when such partitions are desired to extend in a direction perpendicular to the long dimension of panels 10. In each case, partition 38 is disposed immediately above a joist 12, with a floor runner 42, such as a wood 2" x 4", afiixed therealong on the floor. Vertical stud 34 and wallboards 36 are suitablby affixed to and extending upward from floor runner 42. Partition 40 is disposed immediately below a joist 12, with an elongate ceiling runner 44, such as a wood 2" x 4", aflixed to the joist 12 bottom face, and vertical studs 34 and wallboards 36 suitably afliXe-d to and extending downward from ceiling runner 44.

Referring to FIG. 4, a junction of the floor-ceiling structure of the invention with an exterior building'wall 46 is shown. The exterior wall 46 consists of exterior sheathing 48, exterior wall studs 50, wall boards 51, and two wall plates 52, each formed of two wood 2" x 4" boards, one plate 52 being disposed atop the ends of joist 12 and one plate 52 being disposed immediately under the ends of joists 21. Disposed immediately inwardly of the two wall plates and extending between adjacent joists 12 is an edge support block 54, preferably of a height equal to the height of joists 12. The edge stiffener 22 of the panel 10 adjacent the exterior wall 46 is disposed on the top surface of the block 54,.and abutsthe inner face of the plate 52 which is disposed atop the ends of joists 12.

The combination of elements used in forming the novel panel 10 will be seen to provide a maximum number of functions with an exceptional degree of structural strength per unit Weight. The fibrous boards, of low density, provide a very attractive ceiling surface for an exposed beam type ceiling. They function to both absorb noise created in the room below and to reduce substantially the transmission of noise from the room above to the room below. They provide the necessary support to the plywood floor and, in combination with thestifieners 20 and 22, are capable of spanning widely spaced joists. With 3-inch to 3 /2-inch thick panels 10, it has been found that a joist center to center spacing may be as much as six feet.

The tongue and groove structure of boards 14 and stilleners 20 and 22 provides integrity of support to the plywood sheets 28 and, secondly, permits the panels to be mounted rapidly, and adjoined to give the essential unity to the resultant floor-ceiling structure.

Having completed a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiments of my invention so that those skilled in the art may practice the same, I contemplate that variations may be made without departing from the essence of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A floor-ceiling unitary panel comprising a thin, dense rectangular plywood floor board forming a monolithic top face of said panel, said floor board being adhesively laminated to a plurality of thick, low density, rectangular fibrous-like composition ceiling boards forming a major portion of the exposed panel bottom face, said ceiling boards being of a length substantially equal to said floor board, said ceiling boards being disposed in parallel spaced relation, one to another, and elongate narrow dense wood stitfeners disposed between each pair of adjacent spaced ceiling boards and at each side of the outermost ceiling boards, said ceiling boards and said stifieners all being interconnected by complementary engaged tongue and groove edges providing uniform distributed stitfening throughout the said thin floor board.

2. A floor-ceiling structure comprising a plurality of spaced, parallel, horizontal, exposed ceiling beams and a plurality of floor-ceiling unitary panels, said panels comprising a thin, dense rectangular floor board forming a monolithic top face of said panel, said floor board being adhesively laminated to a plurality of thick, low density, rectangular ceiling boards forming a major portion of the exposed panel bottom face, said ceiling boards being of a length substantially equal to said floor board, said ceiling boards being disposed in parallel spaced relation, one to another, and elongate narrow dense stifieners disposed between each pair of adjacent spaced ceiling boards and at each side edge of the outermost ceiling boards, said ceiling boards and said stiffeners all being interconnected by complementary engaged tongue and groove edges providing uniform distributed stifiening throughout the said thin floor board.

3. A floor-ceiling structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said ceiling boards are of fibrous-like composition, suitable for absorption of sound.

4. A floor-ceiling structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said ceiling boards are of fibrous-like structure of from about 2 inches to 4 inches thickness.

5. A floor-ceiling structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said floor board is plywood. i

6. A floor-ceiling structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said ceiling boards are of fibrous-Ike composition, said floor board is plywood, and said stitfeners are wood.

7. A floor-ceiling structure as defined in claim 2, said ceiling boards being about 2 inches thick, and of about 15 pounds per cubic foot density fiber and cement binder composition, said floor board being plywood of about /8- inch thickness and said stiffener being wood, said panels being about 4 foot by 8 foot and said parallel spaced beams being spaced apart a distance abut half the length of said panels.

8. A floor-ceiling structure as defined in claim 7, wherein the end joints of panels of adjacent rows of panels are disposed on alternate opposite beams.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 598,437 2/1898 Piver 52-730 2,001,733 5/1935 Kellogg -s 52144 2,015,114 9/1936 Kellog 52404 2,031,631 2/1936 Bemis 52-615 2,365,579 12/ 1944 Mulligan. 2,401,587 6/1946 Smith 52-62O 2,553,227 5/1951 Wesner 52560 X 2,745,779 5/1956 Ritter 52620 3,070,196 12/ 1962 Switzgable 52404 3,293,820 12/1966 Smith 52615 X FOREIGN PATENTS 907,538 1945 France. 884,311 1/1953 Germany.

OTHER REFERENCES Civil Engineering Magazine, September 1944, pp. 395- 397, Design of Built-up Plywood Panels.

JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner. 

